


Orange and Purple Sky

by aintweproudriff



Category: Bandstand - Oberacker/Oberacker & Taylor
Genre: Ambiguous Time Frame, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Jimmy holds 3 unless he's pining, M/M, Mutual Pining, The DNB has seven brain cells, fic request, god these are the best tags huh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-03-29 09:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19016920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aintweproudriff/pseuds/aintweproudriff
Summary: "Jimmy smiled fondly at the people around him and took a seat on the chair that was the most out of the way. Lord knew that these idiots could take up enough space to fill a whale, if someone let them."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this was, until a few minutes ago, titled "Johnny/Davy/Jimmy fic for Kat"  
> Based on somewhat true events in my life, but minus the romance (as always)

It was a warm evening, just on the brink of summer time, when all of Jimmy’s favorite people gathered in Nick’s backyard for a few hours, to celebrate Memorial Day, the beginning of new adventures, and their almost four-year collective friendship. The seven of them had played cards for a few hours, but had quickly dissolved into giggles that not even Julia, using her ‘super serious’ voice, could quell, and they decided it was time for a change of pace. They flooded into the backyard as the sun set and grabbed a few drinks.   
With a fire pit burning brightly on one end of the big yard, a picnic table on the other side, a tire swing hanging from a branch, a hammock between the two strongest trees, and exactly one beer in everyone’s hand, there were plenty of options for a good time. 

Jimmy smiled fondly at the people around him and took a seat on the chair that was the most out of the way. Lord knew that these idiots could take up enough space to fill a whale, if someone let them. So he’d let them, why not?

Julia, Donny, Wayne, and Nick sat by the fire, poking it occasionally in the hopes of keeping it going. Davy went right for the tire swing, standing on the brim of it and pushing himself off as fast as he could. Jimmy reveled in the way his smile grew up his face, and the way the edges of his eyes wrinkled as he stood, poised like a prince fresh from battle, swinging back and forth. 

“I have too much in here,” Davy lifted his bottle. “It’s going to spill.”  
As a solution, he wrapped his arm around the rope with an air that said he didn’t want to fall, but it also wouldn’t faze him if he did, and then he gulped down swigs of the beer.   
“That’s better,” he laughed, obviously proud of the way he made the best of his situation. 

Jimmy, in an attempt to hide his smile, took another sip of his beer, slightly warm despite having been in a bowl of ice, and looked over at the fire. They had pulled out the marshmallows, judging by the s’more in Julia’s hand and the big chocolate kiss she planted on Donny’s cheek. 

“If you do that to me,” he heard Wayne threaten Nick with a wagged finger, “I will light your chair on fire.”

Donny laughed widely, all joy and love, and again Jimmy was taken aback by the beauty of his friends. Not that he would ever try to hit on any of them, or start a relationship with any of them - Donny especially. Julia was Jimmy’s best friend, and Donny and Julia were as close to perfect as he had ever seen.   
Only when he tore his eyes away from Donny did Jimmy notice Johnny. He wondered at how he hadn’t realized that Johnny had been missing, but he supposed he could have forgotten Johnny in the shuffle of all them from the basement to the yard. There was no denying that once Johnny emerged from the house, the sky looked a little brighter as it turned shades of purple and orange.   
Again, he realized how much he appreciated his friends’ looks. Not that there was anything wrong with that; Davy, Johnny, Donny, Wayne, and Nick - they were all objectively good looking people, and Jimmy constantly wore rose-colored glasses that made them seem better looking because of how much he loved them for their personalities and talents. Julia, too, was gorgeous, and loved for Jimmy to remind her of this when she wore a new dress. If anything, complimenting his friends so much had made him compliment himself more, and that was something to applaud. 

“Johnny!” Davy yelled. “Come join me!”

Johnny looked at what he was doing and instantly agreed, leaping over to the tire swing. Rather than getting on it, however, he pushed it. Hard. Davy went flying across the yard, and if he had been stationary, Jimmy was sure he would have been able to see his knuckles turning white from trying to hold onto the ropes. Even without the visual aid, though, Jimmy could hear Davy’s shriek. 

“Oh my god, Johnny!” Jimmy yelled, and stood up as a first reaction to the shock. “You can’t just-”  
He looked over at the fire pit to see if the others had seen what had happened, but judging by their confused expressions, they had only noticed the aftermath. 

Davy, still swinging, let out a booming laugh. “Oh my god, someone stop me.”

Johnny pulled the swing to a stop, laughing almost as hard as Davy was. “I couldn’t resist,” he said as Davy stepped off. “Oh man, I’m sorry.”

He didn’t look very sorry, but seeing as Davy wasn’t hurt or even scared, Jimmy figured there was no real harm done.   
The people at the fire pit shook their heads and turned away, except for Julia. 

“What the fuck are you three doing over here?” she asked Jimmy as she walked over, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen loose behind her ear. 

Jimmy sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I thought this was going to be a calm party, but-” he gestured at the people around him “-evidently not.”

“We’re being calm over there,” Julia said, jerking her head toward the fire.

And, well, Jimmy hadn’t really expected to be given a way out from the craziness of the two of them. In honesty, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted it. He kind of liked rolling his eyes and being the sanest one in a group. But since Julia wanted to grant some reprieve, and since there were s’mores over there, he followed her as she walked back.   
Jokingly (and thankfully without any sting - he would have felt guilty if he had thought it was real), Johnny and Davy ‘boo’ed him as he walked away and took a seat next to Donny. Wayne smiled at him, and Jimmy smiled back before grabbing a marshmallow and a stick.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for finishing this fic! I thought I'd be more productive this summer, but now that I'm working it's hard to keep up with writing

He sat and talked for a while with Wayne, Nick, Julia, and Donny. The five of them cracked jokes, made a mess with s’mores, and watched as the fire grew brighter against a darkening sky. The flames burned his eyes a little, but he found that he didn’t mind, since the air on his back continually got colder.   
It didn’t take long, however, for Jimmy to notice how loud Johnny and Davy could be. The sound of their laughing and talking carried over to where he sat, and every time he heard them, he felt a strong tug, almost magnetic, on his spine. Each time, he created a mental barricade - he wouldn’t look at them, because if he looked at them, he would stand up and go to them, and he was having so much fun sitting with his other friends. Wayne cracked another joke, and everyone laughed, as if Jimmy had needed proof of exactly how much he was enjoying himself. 

Eventually, the conversation around the fire turned to relationship problems. Jimmy had experienced his fair share of bad relationships, but he wasn’t in one at the moment. 

“Donny sometimes gets a little crazy when we party,” Julia admitted to the group, placing her hand on his knee like they needed a reminder of who Donny was. “He likes drinking, and the music, and the dancing. And-” she said, as Donny opened his mouth to protest, “-that’s okay, once in a while. And he only does it once in a while. But it isn’t really my scene, you know? I prefer something a little quieter.”

“We go on museum dates and picnics in the park, too,” Donny said, either as a defense of himself and his habits or a complaint against the kind of thing Julia liked to do. “And those aren’t always my scene. I think that’s why we work, actually. We compromise on ideas.”

“I think so too, if you want my honest opinion,” Julia agreed. “We have a lot in common, and what we don’t have in common we figure out.”

“We’re pretty similar to that, I’d say,” Nick said, before taking a sip of his beer. “Like, we have some major arguments.”

Wayne laughed sourly. “The neighbors had to check in on us last week to make sure no one was hurt.”

“Right,” Nick nodded. “No one was, of course,” he said in response to Jimmy’s concerned face. “We don’t fight like that. We just get-”

“-excited,” Wayne filled in for him. 

“Exactly. But we always make up after we fight. And we’re always stronger for it.”

“I don’t think we’ve had a fight over fifteen minutes, actually.” Wayne, seeing that Nick’s bottle was empty and had been untouched for a while, stood up to grab him another. 

Jimmy smiled at the couples around him, but he realized that he hadn’t been contributing to the conversation anymore. He supposed it was because he had nothing to say, but that didn’t do much to make him feel better about his realization.   
For the first time, he looked over his shoulder at Johnny and Davy, sitting together. Their faces, lit by the porch light, seemed frozen in permanently content smiles. Every so often, one of them would say something, and the other would laugh, but it didn’t take long for both of them to calm down again. Sighing, Jimmy stood up and looked, as if for permission, at Julia. She nodded, and he smiled, taking small steps towards Johnny and Davy. 

“Get bored over there, Jimmy?” Davy asked casually. 

“Something like that. Figured I’d come over and sit with you guys for a bit. Careful,” he joked, sitting down, “if I don’t have fun with you guys, I’m out of options, so I might just leave. 

Johnny laughed. “We’ll try to keep up to your standards.” 

“Thank you.” Jimmy took a sip from his beer. Something about sitting with Davy and Johnny seemed perfectly easy. 

Davy stood up. “Here, if you want excitement,” he held his hand out to Jimmy to help him up, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to try.”

Jimmy took Davy’s hand and used it to pull himself up, then turned around and offered his hand to Johnny, who did the same. “Alright,” Jimmy said tentatively. “What?”

Davy’s eyes shone. “Someone get in the hammock.”

“I don’t trust that,” Jimmy turned to Johnny. “You do it.”

“Okay,” Johnny shrugged, and plopped down into the hammock, like it was the easiest thing in the world to blindly follow whatever Davy wanted. Jimmy wished for a moment that he had that kind of faith in his friend, but although he knew Davy could be so smart when he wanted to be, he also knew that Davy had made some grave mistakes. 

He stopped wishing he trusted Davy without any doubts when Davy began to swing the hammock, and they lying-down Johnny, violently back and forth. It was like a twisted baby cradle. 

“One way,” yelled Davy, “and the other way!” 

“You are going to throw him out of that thing, Davy,” Jimmy said, unable to tell if he yelled it or whispered it. “Shit, guys, stop!”   
Okay, so it was a yell. He sure was doing that a lot tonight. 

Despite his protests, Davy kept pushing, and Johnny kept scream-laughing, just to make sure all the neighbors on the block heard. Jimmy inhaled through his mouth, feeling his whole body shake with something like laughter and something like discomfort. His body turned away before he could force himself to keep watching, and just when Johnny and Davy were completely out of his line of sight, he heard a yelp, a crash, and more bouts of laughter from both of them.   
Jimmy spun on his heel, and there was Johnny, laying in the rosebushes. Davy stood above him, taller than Johnny for once in his life, still holding a handful of the hammock fabric. 

“Are you hurt?” Jimmy asked, hating that his first reaction was to take care of them. “Stand up. Look for any thorns that might be in your skin.”

“Jimmy, I’m fine,” Johnny held out his hands, as if to show just how much he hadn’t been hurt. “I didn’t even land on any of the plants.”

“Yeah you did,” Davy pointed at the ground.   
Sure enough, one of the yellow roses from the lowest branch of the bush was crushed flat on the ground. 

“Oops,” Johnny grimaced, and giggled like he’d been caught doing something wrong. 

Jimmy’s heart swelled. “Are you sure you’re okay? Those can hurt if they stay in for long.”

“I’m fine, really,” Johnny stood up and spun around. “See? No thorns.”

“Good,” Jimmy said, not wanting to admit that although he’d been looking at Johnny, he hadn’t been checking to see if he’d been hurt. Remembering something, he turned to Davy. “You suck,” he said, pointing a finger and silently lamenting that he couldn’t hide his smile. “That scared the shit out of me.”

“Well he’s not hurt, so that’s good,” Davy shrugged, also smiling.

“He could have been! God, Davy, I feel like you never think. I love you, but you’re an idiot.”

Jimmy had barely finished the last word before he felt Davy’s lips on his, and he had his hands on Davy’s shoulders, surprised but not angry or uncomfortable. In fact, it was probably as close to comfort as he’d been all night. He laughed into the kiss at the realization, and Davy pulled back. 

“Sorry, that was-”

“Good,” Jimmy cut of his apology. “Great.”

“Great?” Davy’s eyebrows raised. “That’s good.”

Johnny took a step forward. “Okay, will you shut up now so I can have a great kiss with one of you?”  
Jimmy looked at Davy, then back at Johnny, whose face was now twisted in a doubtful expression. When Davy gave him a little smile, Jimmy put one hand on Johnny’s cheek and leaned in. Johnny kissed back, and Jimmy was suddenly very aware of the warm night air on the back of his neck. 

-

Thirty minutes later, the three of them sat on the step of Nick’s porch, having discussed the kisses and run out of things to say. They leaned on each other as they watched the moon come out from behind a cloud. It was after midnight, but Jimmy didn’t have anything to do in the morning, so he wanted to stay right where he was for as many hours as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rushed the ending but oh well.   
> I hope you enjoyed!!! Let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> I love the summery tone I get to use for this piece!  
> If you like it, please let me know with a comment/kudo/reblog on tumblr @aintweproudriff! It makes my day, and it helps me want to write more.


End file.
